EIRP Proceedings

EIRP Proceedings, Vol 9 (2014)

Abstract:
The
purpose of this article is to point out the way intelligence evolved
in the last decades with the accent on the new threats or challenges
it’s faced with nowadays as well as to highlight it’s
importance in every matter concerning the states but also raising to
the level of the entire international system through it’s new
ways of responding and operating in the informational era. Just as
Michael
Herman and Richard J. Aldrich pointed out in their works, it is well
known that the future of intelligence should concern every actor
provided that the more technology evolves it’s role as well as
the need for such structures are increasing. The
main methods employed were documentation, observation, research and
case study. Conducting this study we learned that the problem is
still actual as the discussions concerning a major issue intelligence
is confronted with are still open. The study has implications in the
academic groups because intelligence needs more and more specialists
capable to face every situation no matter how unforeseen.The
present paper brings together different points of view concerning the
matter but was also meant as an alarm signal for the readers.

Keywords:development;
information; revolution; education; threat

Conceptual
Frame

The term
intelligence has various meanings, however in this particular context
it is used to define secret information that governments collect
about an enemy or possible enemy but it may also refer to
governmental organizations that collect information, as well as the
people working for such organizations.2

“As an
institution, it serves central and not local government. It deals
with information, but in ways that differ from information-gathering
and information-handling that take place as integral parts of
government and military command and control. It is a specialist
activity; in military terms it is “staff” not “line”.
(Herman,
2001)

Once the Cold
War ended, the world has begun to develop more, therefore nowadays we
are witnesses to the revolution of knowledge and technology which
gradually came to influence every form of manifestation or
individuality, as well as the contemporary society. This marked the
beginning of a fundamental change in every possible aspect, and so
the world as people knew it before the last quarter of the 20th
century suddenly suffered major changes that lead to a whole new
perspective. The ways of thinking and reacting at a national level
were altered due to the ulterior progress and sometimes even
completely reformed, the world finding itself at the gates of a new
evolutional age, nowadays known as the informational era.3

Faced with a
massive amount of information, suddenly became available at a global
range through publications, but mostly through computer technology
and networks, the intelligence structure was forced to adapt to all
the transformations using a double approach.(The
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000)

First of all, due to the
imperative necessity of rapid response and extended knowledge all the
processes and procedures were adapted through new ways of action and
decision in operations, as well as the consolidation of the
analytical skills.

Second, technology became a major
resource extremely useful in the shaping of the international system,
as well as an increasing factor of power in the informational area,
which led to a fierce competition centred on investments meant to
ensure the progress of this particular domain.

The
Evolution of Intelligence in the Permanently Changing Informational
Era

The first decade following the
end of the Cold War was an unfortunate period for the entire
intelligence structure due to the fact that the reformation of the
system towards the new directions, set by the anterior changes,
proved itself to be hard to apply in the middle of the technological
progress, worldwide information availability and networks
development. All of the above led to the emergence of various
phenomena which were to mark the informational era and influence it’s
every aspect.

In a world of
constantly changing threats, globalization4
and the new terrorism seem to be the major events the intelligence is
confronted with, both of them requiring different approaches and
strategies concerning discipline, analysis, the management of the
information, but also centered on bringing imagination, intuition and
innovation in the process.
(Aldrich,
2008)

The reform of
intelligence is not a new concept, provided that the intelligence
structures were always in need of adjusting their objectives,
operational environments and requirements concerning surveillance
and external control; however most of the adjustments only
represented the beginning of evolution. (Wilson,
2008)

The big challenge intelligence is
faced with in the informational era is responding more and more
efficiently to an enlarged number of threats insufficiently defined
which followed the technological progress.

Among the
several changes occurring in the intelligence structures there is
also the move towards more action, represented by the efforts to go
beyond the passive gathering of intelligence seen in the past decade
under the impact of globalization. (Aldrich,
2009)

“Globalization
has compelled many domestic security intelligence agencies and
foreign intelligence agencies to work alongside each other.”(Aldrich,
2009)
and so the “need to know” became “need to share”.

“Intelligence
means
more than ever intelligence; a game of the best against the best.”
(Fota, 2012)

In a world where numerous threats
keep appearing due to the evolution of technology enforced by the
fierce competition arising among actors whose primary purpose is the
investment in research and progress; threats such as new terrorism,
biological weapons, nuclear armament, hackers, and many more; the
essential question is freedom or security?

That security is assured by those
organisms subordinated to the states, and not only, which have the
interest of ensuring the protection of the classified information on
all it’s levels, as well as protection from any kind of threat
or cyber-attack through every means possible.

The accelerated development of
technology made the number and variety of threats grow notably and so
today, in the so called “informational era” here we are
faced with yet another major issue: the internet and every virtual
environment.

Expectations
of Intelligence in the Informational Era

Appeared as a result of
globalization, the internet compresses space and time facilitating
any

kind of
informational exchange worldwide; which helps people learn, create,
discover or form ties at a global level. But every good has it’s
bad side so along with all these benefits, the internet makes it
easier for information to be lacked, spies to get inside national
databases and countless other threats the world is facing.5

Every bit of information which
happens not to be under protection at a certain time becomes public
worldwide through the internet. So how is this matter going to be
handled? By protecting the information, of course.

People are
already familiar with the structures every state is creating in order
to ensure it’s integrity and also the safety of it’s
citizens, as well as the safe keeping of classified information and
national secrets;6
but the question is: until when will all these services be able to
resist in front of the continuous progress and challenging openness?

Is there a limit to all this
progress? Not as long as this competition of investments between
actors is still going on and technology is viewed as a resource. In
fact we might as well say that the limit of progress is the lack of
technology itself; but nowadays even such places where technology is
not yet materialized are diminishing considerably and those are
definitely not the great powers ruling the world.

Therefore the
world needs more and more intelligence specialists who have the
skills and capacities to face every situation no matter how
unforeseen, but also the imagination and fresh vision needed to come
up with solutions and new ways of approaching every matter as the
expectations of intelligence keep growing.7

A
New Revolution?

In the last two years there has
been another notable change, even greater than the massive access at
information. Not only meaningful amounts of information in a variety
of domains suddenly became public worldwide, but lately a new
phenomenon has appeared which can be qualified as an attempt to
globalize even education.

We might be witnesses of a new
revolution completely different than the one in the past, yet not
totally unrelated. As we already know, each state has its own
educational system strictly coordinated by the government. But what
if all those different systems we have known so far would suddenly
become only one, enforced and supported by an undeniable reality:
technology!?

What if people worldwide would
share the same educational system and means as well as the same
access to anything they would want to learn or study? We already know
every competence and knowledge we have is the result of education; we
create our systems of values based on the education we receive and
all the goals we set for the future are directly related to our
educational degree.

Education has a major impact in
each and every one of our lives and can influence someone’s
path decisively towards good but equally towards bad. In a world
where everyone has the free knowledge and information applicable at a
global scale, not controlled by anything and with no set rules
either, how many would chose to use that information for good and how
many would chose the other?

These seem to
be some of the few questions the proliferation of MOOC8
in the last two years might have arouse. Intended as a
“liberalization of education” the MOOC are open online
courses written by some of the best minds in the world teaching in
well-known universities acknowledged worldwide for their
extraordinary achievements and results like: Harvard, Stanford,
Edinburgh or Yale University.9

In short; each
and every one of us can access the courses and take them freely, in
the end obtaining a qualification certificate as well as more or less
knowledge or interest regarding any particular domain.10

Is this the first step towards a
unique and universal educational system based on technology? Is it
more of a benefice than a prejudice to the world as we know it? Can
it help cultivate people’s interest and obtain progress?

As far as the
European Union is concerned, these courses are relatively new;
therefore the European Union’s at risk of being late in this
domain, provided that the majority of the courses come from other
non-European actors. This matter made the subject of a debate of the
European Union’s Council in November 2013.11

What attitude
will the European Union adopt concerning this matter of OER12
? But more importantly, what are the effects of this tendency of an
universal open educational system based on open educational resources
and technology on intelligence?

Could this “liberalization
of education” with all it’s benefits turn into a threat
for the intelligence?

We have yet to see what the
future will bring.

References

Aldrich,
Richard J. (2008). Setting
Priorities in a World of Changing Threats.
Stanford United Kingdom: Stanford University Press Publishers.

12
Open Educational Resources are any type of educational materials
that are in the public domain or introduced with an open license.
The nature of these open materials means that anyone can legally and
freely copy, use, adapt and re-share them. United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Communication and
Information, “What are European Educational Resources?”,
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to-knowledge/open-educational-resources/what-are-open-educational-resources-oers/.